To Brand a Viral Part 1
by Draka Dracula
Summary: The Mainframers deal with a viral clone of Dot who is out to get both Dot AND Jo Ann!
1. Default Chapter Title

Story 7  
To Brand a Viral  
  
Dash saw her and narrowed her eyes. It was the User who'd helped destroy him. She hadn't known him, and yet she had taken it upon herself to help delete him. Dash could feel her hatred simmering.  
  
"Dot...?" Jo Ann asked, unsure that this was her friend.  
  
"Jo Ann..." Dash gave the User Guardian a smile; a not altogetherly kind smile.  
  
"Where did you get that outfit? Does Bob know you're wearing things like that?"  
  
"Do you like it?" Dash twirled around, showing off the tight skimpy garment.   
  
"Well...it's definately a change for you. But I'm not too sure if Bob will like it," Jo Ann answered. Something felt wrong here.  
  
"That's his problem; I felt like a change.." she purred.  
  
WHERE are her wedding rings?! I need to talk to Bob about this! Jo Ann thought. Out loud, she said, "Well, I need to talk to Bob about Zena's next training session. See you later..." Jo Ann walked off toward the Principle Office.   
  
"Sooner than you think, User Guardian..." Dash muttered quietly, enjoy the fact that she had unnerved the girl.  
  
At the PO, Jo Ann met up with Bob, Matrix, Wild Card, and...Dot? "Desided to change back into something less...slinky, Dot?" she asked.  
  
Dot looked at her, confused, "What?"  
  
"Didn't we just meet outside the diner, and weren't you wearing something really...um...sexy?" Jo Ann hated to say it that way, especially with the guys watching. But something weird was going on.  
  
"I've been in meetings all day!" Dot told her.   
  
"I just saw you wearing the slinkiest outfit ever! Or was it you?" Then Jo Ann remembered something. "Wait a nano...you --or whoever it was that was pretending to be you-- weren't wearing your wedding rings!"  
  
Dot frowned, "You know me, I rarely even wear a miniskirt!!"  
  
"Dash, then?" Bob asked.  
  
Dot groaned, "Not her again...no!"   
  
"User, I thought we would learn by now..." Jo Ann groaned.  
  
"Trouble is, Dash can mimic Dot so easily," Bob said.  
  
"If she's walking the streets she and Chimera have something planned..." Dot warned.  
  
"What, I wonder?" Jo Ann asked.  
  
"She probibly still has it out for you, JoJo," Matrix said. "For your part in deleting Megabyte."  
  
"And me..." Dot sighed.   
  
"How do you guys deal with it?" Jo Ann asked. "You've had virues as enemies before, those that bear a grudge against you for one reason or another. How do you cope with it?" Jo Ann sank down in a chair at one of the computer terminals.   
  
"We just do; its a part of who we are -- what we stand for..." Dot told her.  
  
"Darlin'," Wild Card said, putting his arm around her shoulders for support. Jo Ann looked up at her husband. "This is somethin' we all have ta deal with. It's part of bein' a Guardian, part of bein' a Mainframer. But don't forget, we are all here for you. You ain't facin' this viral threat alone. We are with you all the way."  
  
"Oh how sweet..." came a voice from a vidwindow that had just appeared.   
  
"Now, what?" Jo Ann sighed as she looked at the vid-window.  
  
"A word of advise, Jo Ann," Dash offered, "Don't be so gullible...it could delete you...hello there, Bob..." Dash ran her tongue over her teeth and practically purred.  
  
"Hello, Dash," Bob said unamusingly. "What viral pranks are you and the viral twins up to now?"  
  
"If I told you that, 452, it would spoil our fun...and that wouldn't do; would it?" she pouted.   
  
"You know we'll stop you, whatever your plans are," Bob crossed his arms over his chest, the starburst-icon shinning in the center.  
  
Dash's confident flirty smile stayed right where it was. "You're welcome to try, babydoll...you're all welcome to try...Jo?"  
  
"Some second, Dash, I'm going to recognize you for who --and what-- you are!" Jo Ann seathed. You little masqurade as Dot won't work forever!"  
  
"Maybe...but Jo, sweetie, don't get complacent; and watch out for shadows..." Dash winked at Wild Card to get under the User Guardian's skin. "I'll get you, little User..."  
  
"Not if I get you first, phony!"   
  
"Really, Jo Ann, you should work on controlling that temper of yours; it could get you in trouble..." Dash taunted her.  
  
Jo Ann seathed. Then, she looked over at Bob. "Was Megabyte ever this bad?" she asked him.  
  
"Yeah." Bob told her.  
  
"Glad to know I live up to his legacy...Sleep well, Jo Ann...sleep lightly..."   
  
"Just remember, Dash: I beat the supervirus, Daemon. A little viral like you is nothing, next to that!"  
  
"You knew what to expect from her...you don't know anything about me..."  
  
More than you THINK, viral, Jo Ann thought. "We'll see when the time comes, won't we?"  
  
"Like I said, my pretty, sleep lightly..."  
  
"Likewise, little viral, likewise..."  
  
Dash smiled widely, blew a kiss at Wild Card closed the vidwindow.  
  
Jo Ann's anger had caused her to rise from her seat when she confronted Dash. Now, she sat back down, more dispondent then before.  
  
"So," she said slowly, "This is what it feels like to have an arch enemy..."  
  
"Don't let her get under your skin," Dot advised as Wild Card wrapped his arms around Jo Ann.  
  
"Any tips on dealing with your arch enemy?" Jo Ann asked, giving them a half-smile.  
  
"Don't let them know they're getting to you..." Bob advised.  
  
"Any idea on how we can get to her, instead?"  
  
"She has a very soft spot for MB..." Matrix mused.  
  
"Okay...you guys have had all the experience with virues and virals: How do we use her soft spot to our advantage?"  
  
Dot laughed softly, "I don't know...Maybe since she is basically a twisted version of me; maybe study the things that get to me and use them against her?"  
  
"Well...what is it that gets to you?" Jo Ann hoped that they were getting somewhere with this.  
  
Dot sighed softly, "Various little nit-picky things..."  
  
"Such as..."  
  
Dot and Bob shared a humourous glance, "Squeezing the tooth-paste in the middle," Bob teased his wife.   
  
"How about something we can use against her? I doubt if we can use 'squeezing the tooth-paste in the middle' as a stratagy against Dash," Jo Ann smiled.  
  
"I know," Dot gave Bob a look. "um...insulting Bob bugs me; what about constantly going ton about how if MB was really the man she thought he was, he could've taken down Matrix?" Dot suggested.  
  
"Oooo...good one!" Jo Ann laughed. "Putting down Megabyte will really rub her the wrong way! And it's soooo easy, too!"  
  
"It's petty; but it works..."  
  
"Ohh...I just thought of a good one! Let's bug her about the time when Kid Matrix and Frisket really beat MB's bitmap!" Jo Ann giggled.  
  
Dot chuckled, "Nice one..."  
  
"Thanks," Jo Ann grinned at her. "Anybody else no any? We'll need plenty of ammo for this attack plan."  
  
"You'll come up with things..."  
  
"I hope so."  
  
"You will..."  
  
"Tonight, I think, we should sleep in the PO, darlin' --just to be safe. Who knows what that she-Web Creature is plannin'," Wild Card said.  
  
"Okay," Jo Ann said wearily.  
  
"Good idea: I'll have beds brought from the infirmiry to your ofice, Jo..." Dot smiled.  
  
"Thanks, Dot," Jo Ann smiled at her sister-in-law.  
  
"One big bed, Dot," Wild Card grinned. "I'm not goin' to let Jo Ann outta my arms for a nano all night!"  
  
"Okay, okay!" Dot laughed.  
  
"Thanks," Wild Card grinned.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Later that night, a dark figure slipped into the PO...   
  
Wild Card kept awake, guarding his wife. Matrix stood outside the door. Bob and Dot slept in a nearby room, surrounded by alarms.  
  
Dash approached Bob and Dot's room. She hit the enter button.  
  
::AUTHORISATION REQUIRED TO ENTER:::  
  
"Voice recognition system: This is Dot Matrix."  
  
::AUTHORISATION CONFIRMED::  
  
Dash slipped in to the room and stole one of Dot's nightgowns. She put her own clothing into a bag and prepared a glass of milk.  
  
Dash then approached Matrix  
  
"Hi, Dot. Shouldn't you be in bed?" the green warrior asked.  
  
"I couldn't sleep... Is Jo Ann alright? Dash probably really freaked her out..."  
  
"I'm sure she's okay. Wild Card's with her. You know he wouldn't let anyone near Jo Ann," Matrix grinned.  
  
"Poor dear...why don't you go get some sleep? I'll keep an eye on things here..."   
  
"Nah...I'm okay. Couldn't sleep with that she-viral on the loose, anyway," Matrix answered.   
  
"Are you sure, Enzo?" Dash moved into hug him; hoping to hit one of the nerve-endings in his neck which would knock even this ox out cold.  
  
"I'm sure. You go back to bed...Dash!" Matrix snarled. He had noticed that the "Dot" standing before him was not wearing wedding rings.  
  
Dash's eyes returned to her normal virus colours and she hissed at him, clawing his face with a razor-sharp fingernail before disappearing into darkness.   
  
Matrix snarled at slamed his fist into the alarm button, waking everyone in the PO up.  
  
Dot and Bob threw their robes on and shot out to find out what was wrong.   
  
At the same time, Jo Ann and Wild Card came out of the door. Jo Ann had slept in her uniform, with Pixal settled on her left bracer. Wild Card had worn his pants to bed, but nothing else. As soon as she saw Matrix, Jo Ann knelt by his side, touching the gash on his face. Using her powers, she healed it so that not even a scratch was left.  
  
"Matrix, are you all right? What happened?" Jo Ann asked.  
  
"Dash," he said simply, "She got past all our security..."  
  
"How?" Bob asked, worried. .  
  
"She is basically me..." Dot yawned, "fingerprints, retinal codes, voice recognition would all read her as me..."  
  
"And only Matrix was able to tell it was her," Bob grinned.  
  
"How could he tell?" Jo Ann asked.  
  
"Yeah. How could you?" Dot asked, resting her tired head on Bob's shoulder.  
  
"My eye," Matrix grinned, pointing at the golden orb in his right eye socket. "And, I have fought viruses long enough to know who is viral and who isn't."  
  
"I wonder what she was going to do?" Dot mused..   
  
"Who knows what that she-jackel was up too!" Jo Ann seethed.   
  
"It could be anything...she's evil..."  
  
"Time to fight fire with fire!" Jo Ann snarled. She created a portal. "I'll be right back," she said, and stepped through, closing the portal after her.   
  
*~*~*  
  
Dash was back at the Tor, hoping Chimera didn't know she'd been gone.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Jo Ann stood in Hexadecimal's Lair. It was no longer a place of fear, but of beauty, although still a little chaotic in decor.  
  
"Hex?" Jo Ann called out, all anger having left her.  
  
Scuzzy wizzed around Jo Ann's feet and a sleepy Hexadecimal emerged from her bedroom.  
  
"Jo Ann? you're up late dear..."   
  
Jo Ann didn't answer. Hopping over Scuzzy so that she would not trip over him, Jo Ann ran into Hex's arms, crying.  
  
Hex embraced the User Guardian and patted her back; whispering reassurances.  
  
"Whats wrong dear?!!" she asked finally.  
  
"Dash..." Jo Ann sobbed. Between her tears and sobs, Jo Ann told the ex-virus everything that had happened.  
  
Hexadecimal frowned, "That girl is getting more and more like my brother..." she sighed.  
  
"Will you come and help us?" Jo Ann asked, choking back tears.  
  
"In anyway I can..." Hex handed Jo Ann a handkerchief.  
  
"Thank you..." Jo Ann sniffed. She blew her nose on the hankerchief and calmed down. She wiped the tears from her eyes.  
  
"And she got past all your security measures?!" Hex asked..  
  
"Yes. She can mimic Dot exactly. Only Matrix knew it was her and not Dot."  
  
"As Bob would say 'this is bad'..."  
  
"Yes. Let's go. They probibly think that I've gone to challenge Dash," Jo Ann smiled.  
  
"Probably..." Hex giggled.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Back in the PO, Dot was working herself into a frenzy.  
  
"Where did she go?" Wild Card asked. He was worried about his wife.  
  
"She's probably gone to fight Dash!" Dot declared, pacing up and down, worried beyond belief.  
  
Suddenly, a portal openned. Jo Ann and Hexadecimal stepped into the PO.  
  
"Thank the User!" Dot sighed. Wild Card rushed to embrace Jo Ann.  
  
"Miss me?" Jo Ann teased them.  
  
"Aargh! Don't do that again!" Dot sighed, her heart-rate returning to normal.  
  
"I went to get Hex. Fight fire --or virals-- with fire --or ex-viral!" Jo Ann smiled.  
  
"We thought you were going to fight Dash, luv..." Wild Card told her.  
  
"I know better then that!" Jo Ann half-smiled at her man. "I'd never go fight her without decent back-up!"  
  
"Well; ya had me worried too," Matrix admitted. "I thought I was starting to rub off on you..."  
  
"User forbid!" Jo Ann laughed.   
  
"Hey; I'm not that bad," Matrix defended himself.  
  
"Course not!" Jo Ann grinned, hugging her big "brother".  
  
"Don't push your luck, kiddo..." Matrix teased.  
  
Jo Ann giggled and kissed Matrix on the cheek. She was glad she could laugh again after recieving the fright she had before.  
  
"Hey, Matrix; hands off!" Wild Card teased.  
  
"Don't tell me; tell Jo Ann!" Matrix laughed.  
  
Wild Card chuckled, "Jo Ann; honey..." he teased.  
  
"Hey! Can't a girl hug her big bro and give him a little peck on the cheek?" she laughed.  
  
"As long as its platonic..." Wild Card slipped into his mock-jealousy voice.  
  
"Oh, Wild Card!" Jo Ann laughed. She hugged her husband to her and kissed him on the lips.  
  
"Now that's better..." he teased.  
  
"Love, you know that there is no sprite, User, or viral that will ever replace you in my heart!" Jo Ann leaned her head on Wild Card's shoulder.  
  
Wild Card gently stroked her hair, holding her close.  
  
"I love you," she whispered.  
  
"Ditto, darlin'..."  
  
"Now," Jo Ann said, lifting her head and eyeing her friends, "what are we going to do about Dash?"  
  
"Good question!" Dot sighed.  
  
"I have an idea that will make it easier for us to tell between her and Dot," Jo Ann said.  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"I was thinking of marking her with some sort of sign. Sort of like 'branding' her, although it won't be quite like that. I would use my powers to put a mark on her forhead so that, not only Matrix, but any Guardian with a keytool could tell that she was viral. The mark would be visual, too, even glowing in the dark, so that even at night, we could tell who she is. That will stop her from at least passing herself off as Dot." Jo Ann explained.  
  
"That could work,... but how?" Dot asked.  
  
"I can mark her with a viral symbol. A circle with a 'V' in it. The 'V' would be narrow, with the ends curled like ram's horns," Jo Ann said, showing the symbol that she made to appear on her hand.  
  
"How? She's not exactly going to agree to it." Bob pointed out.   
  
"All I need is to get a clear shot at her...or..." Jo Ann looked at Matrix.  
  
"What are you thinking?" Matrix asked.   
  
"Maybe we can rig Gun so that it will shoot the mark and put it on her forehead. You are certainly a better shot then I am!"  
  
Matrix grinned wolfishly, "Hey, I have no objections about shooting viruses..."  
  
"Course, this won't kill her, just mark her so that we can recognize her," Jo Ann grinned back at him.  
  
"Aww...nuts!" Matrix teased.  
  
Jo Ann giggled. "Can we rig Gun so that it can do that?" she asked him.  
  
"I think so..." Matrix smiled, "you'll have to get 'DrAIa's help -- she's good with machines...especially Gun..."  
  
"Call her, then, and let's get started!" Jo Ann smiled back.  
  
Matrix opened a vidwindow. A sleeping AndrAIa lay there peacefully.  
  
"Are you sure it'll be safe to wake her up?" Jo Ann asked. "You said once that she doesn't like to be woken up..."   
  
"She doesn't... aww, well...'DrAIa...DrAIa, darling wake up..." Matrix spoke into the window. The game sprite stirred slighly, "Go away, Sparky...let me sleep..." she moaned.  
  
"We need you. It's something to help fight Dash..." Matrix answered.  
  
AndrAIa moaned again and pulled herself into an upright position, cranky and sleepy but alert. "What about the kids?"  
  
"Better bring them here. Dash gave Jo Ann quite a scare tonight." Matrix looked over to the User Guardian, who frowned and leaned against Wild Card.   
  
"On my way; just have plenty of java waiting for me if you expect me to be productive..." she growled softly.  
  
"Will do," Matrix grinned. He closed the vid-window and went to start the java machine.  
  
"We may need some back up; what about calling in the cavalry, Jo Ann? Can you still contact the other Mainframe?" Dot asked.  
  
"Sure. Pixal: vid-window! Contact other dimentional Mainframe!" Jo Ann commanded her keytool. It morphed into a vid-window.  
  
The other Dot was in the middle of a press-up when the window appeared. She wiped her brow and shifted into a sitting position.   
  
"Jo Ann!! Hi!"   
  
"Hello, Dot," Jo Ann smiled. "We need you, your Bob, Kayne, and anyone else you can think of."  
  
"Whats the problem?" She asked  
  
"Dash..." Jo Ann frowned.  
  
"Who?!" Dot asked.  
  
"Dash is a cloned file of our Dot that was infected by Megabyte. Think of her as a viral you. She was in love with Megabyte, and she is after my Dot and me for deleating him."  
  
"Oh, User...thats not good..." Dot sighed.  
  
"Nope, it isn't," Jo Ann smiled ironically.  
  
"Sure; We'l help as best we can...we're rebuilding so I can spare a few bodies..." the older Dot smiled.  
  
"If you can spare them, how about bringing Naomi and Echo along, too," Jo Ann smiled.   
  
"Sure! You can have them. Kayne needs to get away from here, and... I'll send a couple of others too..."  
  
"Okay, thanks!" Jo Ann wished she could hug the older Dot.  
  
"Hey; after all you've done for us its the least I can do."  
  
"See ya later!" Jo Ann smiled.  



	2. To Brand A Viral, Part 2

To Brand A Viral, Part 2

* * *

Soon a portal opened in the PO and Kayne and the others stepped through.   
  
"Okay, my mom debriefed me so what is the plan?"   
  
"I'm going to mark Dash in such a way that Guardians, at least, can tell that she's viral," Jo Ann said.  
  
"Good idea But how," Kayne replied.  
  
"Matrix and Gun," Jo Ann grinned.  
  
The younger Dot started. "Oh...hi..." she stared at the new arrival. "Who are you?" Could it be?  
  
Dot continued to stare at Kayne. Was she? "Umm... miss? Who are you?" she asked cautiously.  
  
"I am Kayne Matrix. In my Mainframe I am your daughter," Kayne replied, eyeing Dot and Bob.  
  
Dot gasped softly and held out a hand to Bob, startled.  
  
"Yes, she is. Remember when you and the other Dot accidently switched places?" Jo Ann smiled. "Course, that doesn't mean you'll have her. This is simply thier daughter."  
  
I never met a daughter..." Dot sighed, still clinging onto Bob, "you're beautiful..." she told Kayne .  
  
"They switched places. I am always the last one to know stuff," Kayne complained.  
  
Jo Ann smiled. She would allow Dot to explain everything.  
  
"You explain about the switching places bit," Jo Ann smiled. I'll go and see if Matrix and AndrAIa need any help.  
  
"Enough talk. Lets get down to business," Kayne said shutting the portal  
  
"Is there anyone here we haven't met yet?" Bob asked.  
  
"Thanks Jo Ann!" the older Dot sighed from the vidwindow. "Basically we got switched and Jo Ann and I became good friends...!"  
  
"It was weird," the younger Dot smiled at her. "But on to Dash..."  
  
"Thank you," Kayne said, lightening up.  
  
Jo Ann walked toward Matrix and AndrAIa. "Anything I can help with?" she asked.  
  
Jo Ann stood, watching Matrix and AndrAIa and waiting for them to answer.  
  
AndrAIa had Gun open and was reconfiguring the internal components. She was still rather cranky at being woken up so early and took a large sip of coffee.  
  
"Not really; I'm working on it."  
  
"Okay..." Jo Ann sighed. She looked at Matrix.  
  
"What's up, Jo?" Matrix asked.  
  
"Just wondering if there is anything I can do to help," Jo Ann sighed.  
  
"Nah...she works well alone; 'specially when she's tired..." Matrix smiled. "So you're Kayne then?" He asked the young sprite.  
  
"When do we tag this Dash person?' Kayne asked peeriing over Jo's shoulder.  
  
"With a mark that will clearly say, 'VIRAL'. Matrix is going to use Gun to mark her." Jo Ann showed Kayne what the viral mark would look like.   
  
AndrAIa sighed in frustration, "This is only gonna work for you Guardians..." She stomped her foot.   
  
"You should be able to tell, too, AndrAIa," Jo Ann smiled.  
  
"Obviously!" the game sprite snapped, "sorry -- that was harsh; I'm fully awake yet...!  
  
"It's okay: I'm not feeling so perky, myself," Jo Ann replied.  
  
Jo Ann smiled, wondering how Matrix would react to Kayne. Course, he already knew about the other Bob and Dot.  
  
"Fairly, good," Matrix smiled.  
  
"Oh, okay how do we get her to fire the gun?" Kayne asked.  
  
"Her, who?" Matrix asked.  
  
"No...I'm not married...but Andri lives with Matrix and I, though..."  
  
"Huh?" Jo Ann asked. She obiviously missed part of the conversation.  
  
"Kayne asked if I had any children," AndrAIa explained.  
  
"Oh..."  
  
"In my Mainframe you and Matrix have a daughter my age named Maggie," Kayne explained " So i was just wonderiing if she was here in this Mainframe."  
  
"No...I'm afraid not..."  
  
"A daughter?" A flash of maternal warmth filled the game-sprite's eyes, "but anyway...what I was about to say about Gun, is that it can't produce a permanant mark...it may be able to make her viral side more dominant and soGuardians could sense her; but any brand or mark she will find a way to heal..."  
  
"Leave that part to me!" Jo Ann grinned.  
  
Andri yawned and approached Kayne, "Are you really Bob and Dot's daughter?" she asked.  
  
"That's fairly straightforward of you, Andri!" Jo Ann smiled.  
  
  
"Maybe I can help with that i have been working with my own gun to porduce target markings," Kayne said to the older sprite.  
  
"Okay," AndrAIa agreed.  
  
"Hmmm...we can mark her -- she'll just find a way to remove it!" AndrAIa sighed.  
  
"Was it bad to ask?" Andri asked, worried that she had offened Kayne. "Dot has another daughter?" she added.  
  
"Yep! The only one that my dad has got but I do have a half sister," Kayne replyed.  
  
"And who would that be?"  
  
"As I said, leave that part to me," Jo Ann continued to smile.  
  
"The shooting?" AndrAIa asked.  
  
Bob glanced at Dot, "Anything you're not telling me?"  
  
"No. Matrix would do the shooting. I'll make the mark permanent."  
  
"Okay..."  
  
Jo Ann smiled.  
  
"It was not bad to ask and yes she has another daughter who she had to give up to the father," Kayne explained.  
  
"Who?"  
  
"No, Bob, I have no skeletons in my closet!!" Dot assured him, leaning in to kiss him. ...  
  
"The other Bob and Dot, Bob!" Jo Ann sighed.  
  
"Right about now, Little sprite!" the vidwindow appeared and Dash smiled that insincere smile of hers.  
  
"Who are you calling little," Kayne screamed as she turned around. "No one calls me little and lives."  
  
"Touchy, aren't we, little sprite? Hello Jo Ann? slept well?"  
  
"I slept very well, thanks to Matrix."  
  
"Thats it," Kayne said as she used her powers to destroy the vid window.  
  
"She'll be back..." Jo Ann sighed.  
  
"I hope in person so I can do that to her pretty little face," Kayne said turnig towards the wall.  
  
"Easy, Kayne..." Jo Ann said.  
  
"How wonderful..." Dash appeared in another vidwindow. "I'm so pleased for you... How's the face, 'Trix?"  
  
"All better, since JoJo healed it," Matrix smirked.  
  
"Too bad...another scar would have looked very sexy on you..." Dash purred.  
  
"Nah...one's enough, thanks," Matrix sneered.  
  
"Why don't you come here in person so I can send you to your Megabyte?" Kayne challenged.  
  
Jo Ann winced. Kayne was as tough-talking as Matrix!  
  
"You really should switch to decaff, Kayne, honey...and 'Trix; babe; charming as ever..." she winked.  
  
"Why any one would avenge the death of an invalid like Magabyte is beyound me, so could you explain where in that demented little head of yours you thought up this scheme," Kayne asked Dash.  
  
"Ouch...!" Jo Ann whispered.  
  
AndrAIa snarled and extened her nails.  
  
"Oooh...it seems I've struck a chord with the mermaid..." Dash purred.  
  
"Lay off her," Kayne said to Dash  
  
This insn't good, Jo Ann thought.  
  
"You may be a clone of my mother but you can not insult me and expect to live," Kayne thretened the virus.  
  
"Uh, oh..." Jo Ann groaned.  
  
"The child defends the freak...how sweet..." Dash drawled.  
  
"You really should not have told her that Dot was your mother," Jo Ann whispered to Kayne.  
  
"Shut up," Kayne screamed as she destroyed yet another vid window.   
  
"No use doing that. She'll just keep coming," Jo Ann sighed.  
  
"It is either the vid window or the wall," Kayne said.  
"  
Hit the wall, then."  
  
Dash simply appeared in another vidwindow, "Keep that up, 'daughter' and I'll send a bill to your 'mommy'..."  
  
"See what I mean..."   
  
"Miss me, freak?"  
  
"Not really."  
  
"Can we kill her now," Kayne asked fumeing with anger.  
  
"She's not that simple to kill..."  
  
"No; I'm not..." Dash smiled, winking at Wild Card.   
  
Jo Ann moved in front of her husband, blocking Dash's veiw of him.  
  
"I can make it simple. I killed our Deamon even after I found out she was my grandmother. So I think I can handle Dash," Kayne replied, calming down.  
  
"Oooh...your Bob is Daemon's son...how delicious!" Dash purred, "What about you, Bobby? Any viral blood?" Dash made the statement deliberatly suggestive.  
  
"No, he isn't. Neither of them are," Jo Ann countered.  
  
"No, but I have some," Kayne said, stepping in front of Bob.  
  
"Don't count on it. Dash has powerful friends," Jo Ann said.  
  
"Who are you calling a freak," Kayne said. "Oh it must be the pic of Megabyte you have behind you; never mind."  
  
"Ooooo..." Jo Ann moaned.   
  
"You're really not my type; sweetie..." Dash smiled.  
  
"Too bad...although I do have Chimera..." Dash giggled.  
  
"Whoa! Okay, stop the fight. What do you mean you have Chymera?" Kayne asked.  
  
"Different from Chymera," Jo Ann explained.   
  
"Oh, okay. And I am your worst nightmare," Kayne added to Dash.  
  
"Why don't you tell her?"  
  
"Not fully viral but I have the powers," Kayne added.  
  
"Intruiging; you may be more of a challenge than you look, girl..."  
  
"We'll see, child...we'll see.. Tide couldn't stop me; how can you expect to?"  
  
"Huh? Who's tide?" Jo Ann asked.  
  
"What,Tide?" Kayne aksed in hurt and confusion.  
  
"There IS no Tide in this universe!" Jo Ann said.   
  
"You know, your lover? don't tell me you've forgotten him already, Kayne? Perhaps Hamlet was right; 'Frailty thy name is woman'..." Dash cleary enjoyed pushing Kayne's buttons.  
  
"How do you know about him,"Kayne asked now full of anger and sorrow with tears streaming down her face.  
  
"I paid a visit to her reality and spent some time with the Taint..." Dash explained. "Such a touching death-scene..." Dash's voice became a resonable imitation of Tide's..."'I love ya, Kayne...'" Dash cackled evily.  
  
"YOU FIEND! I SWEAR I 'LL KILL YOU IF IT IS THE LAST THING I DO," Kayne said. filled with emotion.  
  
"Calm down, Kayne!" Bob ordered.  
  
"You little worm!" Jo Ann snarled.  
  
Dash merely looked amused at the crushed look on Kayne's face. "I may be trying to avenge my beloved's death -- but at least I got over him..."  
  
"She is only condeming herself with her words condeming herself to death just like her idiot boyfriend...the weakest of viruls...Magabyte," Kayne said.  
  
"Really weak," Jo Ann agreed. "If one little sprite and a dog could beat him, ol' MB wasn't the virus he was cracked up to be."   
  
Dash's eyes narrowed at the attack on MB's memory; but Kayne's anger allowed her to centre herself once more.  
  
"Don't count on it..." once again her voice slipped into Tide's, "Kayne, love..."  
  
"If I were you, I'd go looking for another boyfriend, Dash. A Web Creature, maybe?" Jo Ann sneered.  
  
"Jo Ann; dear child, I already have my eyes on a couple..." She let her eyes roam Matrix and Wild Card's bodies.  
  
"Stop it, Dash" Jo Ann cried.  
  
Full of anger Kayne opened a portal recoqnising Dash's location. "Well get over this," Kayne said as she hit Dash from behind whit a beam of pure energy last woman alive!" Wild Card answered.  
  
"Was that nessisssary?" Jo Ann asked.  
  
"Yes," Kayne replied through the vid window. "She asked and I gave."  
  
"It won't keep her down for long!" Jo Ann said.  
  
"Good," Kayne replied as she teleported herself back.  
  
Dash picked herself up, allowing healing energy to focus on the areas Kayne had hit, "That wasn't very nice, child..." she seethed.  
  
"You realize, she's going to hate you, now?"  
  
"Thats what I was aiming for," Kayne said. "It is no fun to delete someone who likes you."  
  
Jo Ann shook her head, wondering if bringing Kayne and the others was a good idea.  
  
"Wasn't ment to be nice, virus," Kayne replied mockingly.  
  
"More like, 'painfull'," Jo Ann smiled.  
  
"Y'know I was beginning to like you, girl; you've got such...spunk."  
  
"You are sooo weak, Dash..." Jo Ann said.  
  
"But now is the time for cool heads so I can control my temper," Kayne said. I can read your mind, Jo, and I will help you any way I can and I will not let this virus bug me anymore, Kayne said telepathically to Jo Ann.  
  
Thanks, Jo Ann thought back.  
  
No problem, Kayne replied.  
  
"You haven't seen the half of I can do, freak..."  
  
"Maybe not but that does not mean you frighten me," Kayne replied.  
  
"I'm not a viral; I'm half-virus...and half-COMMAND.COM... And as for not being afraid? You will be, child...!" Dash narrowed her eyes.   
  
"You are not even one-eighteenth of a COMMAND.COM!" Jo Ann sneered. "Dot's definately got you beat in that department!"  
  
"She got the authority.... I got the real power..." Dash smiled  
  
"Don't count on it," Kayne shot back.  
  
"Not much, you don't!"  
  
"You have yet to find out what I can do...plus I have powerful friends... Chimera and Pixil hate you more than I do, Jojo!" She used the affectionate nick-name Matrix had used for Jo Ann and turned it into an insult.  
  
"And they lose, just like you do," Jo Ann countered.  
  
"We'll see..."  
  
"You got that right Jo," Kayne said.  
  
"Only a matter of time, Dash," Bob said.  
  
"The hostility..." Dash smirked. Then, from further in the Tor, she heard Chimera calling her name.  
  
"I think you are being summoned, slave," Jo Ann smirked back.  
  
"Looks like you have company," Kayne said.  
  
"Her master calls..." Jo Ann smiled.  
  
Dash gave Jo Ann a vicious look. "One moment, luv..." she yelled out to Chimera. "He is not my 'master' I am my own Virus..."  
  
"Really?" Jo Ann smirked, unconvinced.  
  
"Sure dosen't look that way from here," Kayne replied.  
  
"Sure doesn't," Jo Ann agreed.  
  
"Why am I explaining this to you? you couldn't possibly comprehend..." Dash sneered, trying to keep some sembalance of dignity.  
  
"DASH!!!!!!" Chimera bellowed.  
  
"Oooo...he sounds MADDD!!!" Jo Ann laughed.  
  
Dash hissed at them and closed the vidwindow.  
  
Matrix and the others laughed, enjoying the small victory.  
  
"How embarrassing!" Dot laughed.  
  
Kayne laughed at the spectcle Dash was making of herself.  
  
Jo Ann smiled. She had good friends. They would prevail.  
  
AndrAIa laughed too; stupid little Virus.   
  
"How's Gun coming, AndrAIa?" Jo Ann asked.  
  
"Nearly done!" the game sprite smiled.   
  
"Good. I'll put the power in to make the mark permenant. One that she can't get rid of, no matter what she does!" Jo Ann threw her arms around Wild Card and hugged him close.  
  
AndrAIa sighed in triumph, "Got it!!"   
  
"Great!" Jo Ann broke away from Wild Card to direct her attention to AndrAIa.  
  
AndrAIa explained the reconfigurations to Jo Ann, and handed her Gun.   
  
Jo Ann concentrated all her power on Gun. She willed the symbol that was to permantly mark Dash as a viral for all Guardians to see. When she was done, she handed Gun to Matrix.  
  
"Ready to rock?" the renegade asked.  
  
"Yes. Should we tell Uncle Turbo about this? He's going to want to know..." Jo Ann asked.  
  
"What time is it in the SC?" AndrAIa asked.  
  
"I don't know. I just thought that Uncle Turbo would like to know..." Jo Ann replied.  
  
"We don't wanna wake him; he's a busy sprite..."  
  
"Can we send a message, then?" Jo Ann asked.  
  
"Good idea..." .  
  
"Dot, could you send it, please?" Jo Ann asked.  
  
"Sure!" Dot typed an e-mail into her organiser and sent it to his office  
  
"Let's go, then..." Jo Ann said.   
  
*~*~*  
  
Dash was feeling rather angry. She hadn't briefed Chim on her plan to out-psych Jo Ann ; she knew she should, but it felt good to be independant! He had made her look a fool!  
  
*~*~*  
  
"How are we going to get to her?" Jo Ann asked.   
  
"Anyone know a back-door to the Tor?" Wild Card asked.  
  
Jo Ann and the others looked at Wild Card as if he was a little bit random.  
  
"Well; It was a suggestion!" the bounty-hunter defended himself.  
  
"He may be right, though," Jo Ann smiled, favoring her husband.  
  
"How else are we going to manage it? Ring the door-bell; 'Excuse me Chimera; can Dash come out and get branded?' huh?"  
  
Jo Ann stiffled a giggle.  
  
AndrAIa laughed, "Can you see his face?"   
  
"Jaw dropping in absolute shock?" Jo Ann giggled. "Yeah, I can imagine it!"  
  
"'No'," the game-sprite mimicked the cut-glass english accent that was Chimera's trademark, "'she's playing with me'..." AndrAIa collapsed into helpless giggles after her imitaiotn.  
  
"No one forget why we are here!" Matrix commanded sternly. He was itching to try out the new modifictations.  
  
"Oh Sparky -- look me in the eye and tell me that wasn't funny!" AndrAIa chortled. ..  
  
"Yeah, it was funny. Can we go now?"  
  
"Oh, En-zo...we can't leave 'til we have a plan!" AndrAIa finished her fourth cup of java.  
  
"Dot..." Matrix turned toward his sister.  
  
"Yes...?"  
  
"You got a plan?" Matrix asked.  
  
"Uummm...not really...hmmm...I wonder..." she mused, as something came to her.  
  
"Yes...?" Now, Jo Ann said it.   
  
"I wonder how the security systems in the Tor work?" Dot mused.  
  
"I don't have a clue..." Jo Ann sighed.  
  
"'Cos if they work like the ones in the Po..." Dot trailed off, mid-thought.  
  
"Where's Hack and Slash? They might know," Jo Ann suggested.  
  
Dot buzzed the two former-henchmen of MB's. "Hack? Slash? Come to my office...if it works like the PO, I may have a plan..."  
  
"Okay..." Jo Ann sighed.  
  
"Of course, it might not-- I wonder...oh...this is gonna be trial and error..."  
  
"We can only hope."  
  
"Yeah; but it has a strong 'we're gonna get caught' eventuality..." Dot admitted.   
  
"Yikes..."Jo Ann whispered.  
  
"And this is the best option I can think of..." Dot was reluctant to tell her plan until she was sure it had even the vaguest chance.  
  
"I wonder what's taking those two so long..." Bob said.  
  
Hack and Slash arrived.  
  
"We are here."  
  
"Yes we are."  
  
"We're here."  
  
"You just said that."  
  
"Did I?"  
  
"You did..."  
  
Jo Ann smiled. Those two was always so funny. She almost forgot about Dash. Almost.  
  
"Boys: does the Tor's security system work on voice recogition, retinal detection etc..." Dot asked, all business.  
  
"It does, ma'am."  
  
"Absolutely!"  
  
"You betcha!"  
  
"It does..."  
  
Jo Ann sighed. Dash had it out for her, and they would be walking right into her lair. The phrase, "'Come into my parlor,' said the spider to the fly." came into Jo Ann's mind.  
  
Dot sighed, at least part of her plan might work.  
  
"In that case; its time I 'booted into her outfit and decided to twist this masquerade around..." she told them.  
  
Jo Ann looked like her eyes were going to bug out.  
  
"What's wrong, Jo Ann?" Dot asked.  
  
"You're...going...to...be...Dash...?"  
  
"Do you have a better plan?" Dot asked, "'cos if you do; I'm all ears! But this is the best I can come up with!"  
  
"No...I don't. It just...surprised me..."  
  
"Why?" Dot asked.  
  
"It just did..."  
  
"Don't think I'm dying to get into the outfit," Dot teased.  
  
"Let's just get the virus belled and get back," Jo Ann sighed. Lack of sleep was begining to show.  
  
"I'm not sure if I can get you guys into the Tor; I may have to get her myself..."  
  
"Why don't I just pop in, brand the little null, and pop out?" Jo Ann sighed.  
  
"'Cos Chimera will undoubtably get you..."  
  
"He can try. But you aren't going alone."  
  
"You've seen me act before; I fooled MB..." Dot smiled.  
  
"Yeah. But Dash can so easily trade places with you. We can't risk that."  
  
"I can take care of myself, Jo...maybe I can use the time for some reconaissance?"  
  
"And what if she comes back instead?"  
  
"Matrix will know..." Dot smiled.  
  
"And what would it mean for you if she does?"  
  
Dot looked down, not meeting Jo Ann's eyes; feeling Bob's eyes boring into her back, "I'm not afraid...I'm the only one who can do this..."  
  
"No. I'm not risking anyone else," Jo Ann said. Before she could be stopped, Jo Ann grabbed Gun and portaled out of the PO, closing the portal behind her.  
  
Dot groaned and shifted to COMMAND.COM mode. She rebooted into Dash's outfit, "Bob; a portal to the Tor," she ordered.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Upon arriving at the Tor, Jo Ann used a hidden file command. When she found Dash, she shot the viral in the forhead with Gun, knocking her out. She quickly checked to be sure the brand was there. Satisfied that job had been done and that the mark would be permanent, Jo Ann portaled back to the PO, sealing the portal behind her.  
  
"It's done," she said simply, removing the hidden file command and giving Gun back to Matrix.  
  
But Dot was not there...  
  
"Oh, Dot...!" Jo Ann moaned.  
  
Inside the Tor, Dot tried to locate Jo Ann and Dash, unaware that Jo had tripped an alarm and Chimera knew there was an intruder...  
  
Dot! Get back here! It's done! Dash is branded! Jo Ann could feel where Dot was and what was happening.   
  
Chimera had extended the security net; screening out telepathy. He could feel the intruder...it was Dot Matrix. the COMMAND.COM had come to call... with an evil smile he headed to her location...  
  
Sencing that Dot was in danger, Jo Ann used her powers to teleport Dot back into the PO. To the surprise of the COMMAND.COM, she was no longer in the Tor, but the PO, looking at her friends.  
  
"What -- where? Jo Ann!"  
  
"Hi, Dot," Jo Ann smiled. "You don't have to pretend that you're Dash. She's been branded already."  
  
"Oh." Dot looked embarrassed, and quickly booted back to her blue jumpsuit.  
  
"Chimera had found you out. He was going to your location," Jo Ann smiled.  
  
Dot shuddered at that thought.  
  
"At any rate, it's done. Any Guardian with a keytool will know Dash for what she is," Jo Ann yawned. She leaned against Wild Card.  
  
Dot yawned too, "Lets get some sleep..."  
  
"But post a guard..." Jo Ann reminded her.  
  
"Yeah, I know..."  
  
*~*~*   
  
Back in the Tor, Dash awoke with Chimera standing over her.  
  
"What happened, Chim?" Dash asked.  
  
"The COMMAND.COM and the User Guardian were here...you have now lost the ability to impersonate Dot when there's a Guardian around!" he thundered.  
  
The Tor rang with Chimera's rage; and Dash simply tuned him out, and plotted her revenge.  
  
*~*~*  
  
In their room in the PO, Jo Ann and Wild Card settled down to sleep.  
  
  
"Pixal, alert us if Dash, Chimera or Pixel enter the PO!" Jo Ann commanded.   
  
The keytool bleeped her acknowledgement. {Get some sleep now, Jo Ann!} Pixal commanded.  
  
"Okay..." Jo Ann yawned. She laid down, guarded well by Pixal and her friends. Jo Ann smiled and snuggled close to Wild Card.   
  
Wild Card wrapped his arms around Jo Ann; releaved she was safe.  
  
"I love you..."she whispered in her sleep.  
  
"Love ya too, darlin'..."  
  
She snuggled closer, feeling safe in his arms.  
  
*~*~*  
  
The User Guardian may have won today...but as long as Dash was processing, Jo Ann would never truly be safe...   
  
THE END 


End file.
